A sad week indeed

It began with the news that Tom McQuoid lost his battle with cancer. Then there was the anniversary of 9/11.

Today, I am sad to report to ye socks that our extended family also incurred a triple loss this week.

The first two were not entirely unexpected, but the third was a shock:

1. Bernice Bradley Cox passed away at the age of 96, actually just a few days short of her 97th birthday. Her late husband Gerald was the son of my great-uncle Henry Cox (one of the 14 older siblings of my great-grandmother Sarah Cox Morgan).

2. Eva Hand Cox passed away at the age of 86 up in Tavares with her 4 daughters by her side. I always enjoyed visiting with her at our reunions in Montverde, and was inspired by her strength of spirit. She raised those girls on her own after her husband Carl's untimely death back in 1951, and will be buried by his side on Monday in the little cemetery adjoining our reunion hall. Carl was the son of my great-uncle Jim Cox (another one of those 14 older siblings I mentioned above).

And, finally

3. Stephen Robert Lee was taken at the relatively young age of 47 at a hospice in Altamonte. He was the son of one of the sweetest ladies I have ever known, Lois Newell Lee, who survives him. (Lois' mother Agnes Morgan Newell was the eldest of my great-grandfather's sisters.) Stephen is also survived by his wife Dawn; son Sam; sisters Patricia and Joanna; three nephews; and a niece.

My heartfelt condolences go out to all the members of my extended family who are feeling these losses most closely.